FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT TAX EVASION - PAGE 5

MIAMI -- Attorneys Monday rested their cases in the criminal tax fraud trial for reclusive millionaire Victor Posner, who is charged with inflating the value of property he donated to a college. Closing arguments in the trial before U.S. District Judge Eugene P. Spellman were scheduled to begin Wednesday. Posner, 67, is charged with 10 counts of conspiracy, filing false federal income tax returns and tax evasion.

Reputed mobster Dominic I. Santarelli, the Fort Lauderdale restaurateur convicted in the 1980s of federal income tax evasion and extortion in a multimillion-dollar tax fraud scheme, died unexpectedly on Monday. Mr. Santarelli was 58 and suffered a heart attack while serving out his sentence in a federal prison in Fort Worth, his family said. "It was such a shock to everybody because he was in such good shape," said his son, Dominic Santarelli II of Fort Lauderdale. "His friends used to call him `The Champ' because of it."

A former Miami lawyer was sentenced in Fort Lauderdale on Friday to five years in federal prison in a case the government says involved a conspiracy to launder drug-trafficking proceeds through Broward County businesses. U.S. District Judge Jose A. Gonzalez Jr. sentenced a nervous, nail-chewing Martin Blitstein to five years in prison for tax evasion and imposed a concurrent three-year term on another tax-related charge. Blitstein, who was convicted by a jury after defending himself, remains free on a $100,000 personal surety bond pending the outcome of an appeal.

The government can prosecute only tax evasion charges from the late 1980s and early '90s because of the statute of limitations. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't legal. For 13 workers at Continental Plastic Card Co. in Coral Springs it wasn't. Each had accepted the option of receiving all or parts of their paychecks tax-free during part of the past six years. Now each will pay for it. On April 15 - tax day for most Americans - four will be sentenced on federal tax evasion charges.

PEMBROKE PARK -- Commissioners wondered publicly on Tuesday whether Town Attorney A.J. Ryan would be working for them much longer. Ryan, who is on probation for federal tax evasion, could be sent to jail following a recent conviction for driving under the influence. Ryan`s probation officer, Rory McMahon, said he would ask a U.S. magistrate to review Ryan`s case. McMahon`s recommendation -- which could range from revoking Ryan`s probation, ordering him to enter an alcohol treatment program, or doing nothing -- was not made public on Tuesday.

A halfway house in Dania Beach has become the new home of Russell Barakat, the one-time kingmaker of Broward County's Democratic Party who was sent to prison for tax evasion and threatening a federal prosecutor. Barakat was moved from a federal prison camp in South Carolina to the Dismas Charities halfway house last week. He will stay there until Oct. 3 as he looks for work and authorities help him make the transition into the community, federal prison officials said Thursday. Barakat was one of South Florida's most powerful political insiders, with connections stretching from Fort Lauderdale to the state Capitol and the White House.

Another local politician bites the dust. This time, it's tax evasion that knocked a member of the establishment from his comfortable perch. It had been rumored for months that authorities were investigating West Palm Beach City Commissioner Jim Exline. But unlike the scandals that have felled three other popular politicians, Exline's misdeed does not appear to relate to his political or business affairs. His lawyer says Exline resigned in anticipation of being charged with a single count of tax evasion for failing to report about $60,000 in personal income during the 2004 tax year.

Former Tallahassee power broker Dr. Alan Mendelsohn turned himself in Friday at the federal prison camp in Estill, S.C., shortly before his noon deadline to surrender, prison officials said. The Hollywood eye doctor, former lobbyist and political fundraiser was sentenced to four years in prison. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, tax evasion and making false statements to federal agents. Inmates at the minimum-security camp, about 50 miles north of Savannah, Ga., wake up at 6 a.m., sleep in communal dorms, and wear green uniforms during working hours.

Russ Barakat who is facing six to 18 months for tax evasion, will probably be walking off with about $200,000 in taxpayers "settlement" money. To "reward" him further as a convicted felon, he is expected to receive three months paid leave. My suggestion is why no also pay him a bonus? Don't we do this with al convicted felons? It seems only fair. F.J. DREW Coral Springs

Lobbyist Marvin L. "Spike" Leibowitz, recently convicted of mail fraud and conspiracy along with former Sunrise Mayor John Lomelo, will plead guilty to tax evasion charges in a related case, his attorney said Tuesday. In exchange, the government is expected to drop charges that Leibowitz conspired to extort $70,000 from a Georgia nursing home company, attorney Lawrence C. Roberts said. "Mr. Leibowitz is anxious to get this all behind him," Roberts said after the brief appearance before U.S. District Judge Thomas Scott.